Pope video: For Christians in areas of conflict
In the Pope Video for December 2025, distributed by the Popes Worldwide Prayer Network », Pope Leo XIV asks people to pray, “That Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East, might be seeds of peace, reconciliation and hope.” Read the full press release below or click here to access it ».
December 2025 – Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer:
God of peace,
who through the blood of Your Son
has reconciled the world to Yourself,
today we pray for Christians
living amidst wars and violence.
Even surrounded by pain, may they
never cease to feel the gentle kindness of your presence
and the prayers of their brothers and sisters in faith.
For only through You, and strengthened by fraternal bonds,
can they become the seeds of reconciliation,
builders of hope in ways both small and great,
capable of forgiving and moving forward,
of bridging divides,
and of seeking justice with mercy.
Lord Jesus, who called blessed
those who work for peace,
make us Your instruments of peace
even where harmony seems impossible.
Holy Spirit,
source of hope in the darkest times,
sustain the faith of those who suffer and strengthen their hope.
Do not let us fall into indifference,
and make us builders of unity, like Jesus.
Amen.
Pope Leo XIV: “Christians living in the midst of war are seeds of peace.”
On the eve of his departure for Turkey and Lebanon, the Pope invites us to pray for Christian communities who live in war-torn or conflict zones.
(Vatican City, 26 November 2025) – Today, on the eve of Pope Leo XIV’s departure for his first apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon, The Pope Video for December is released. It is dedicated specifically to the Christian minorities who live in the midst of war. The Holy Father asks that we pray “that Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East, might be seeds of peace, reconciliation and hope.”
Builders of Hope: Instruments of Peace
Pope Leo notes in his intention that “Christians living amidst wars and violence should never feel alone, even when surrounded by pain. May they never cease to feel the gentle kindness of God’s presence, and the prayers of their brothers and sisters in faith”. He continues “even in parts of the world in which war seems to be the only rule of law, where harmony seems impossible, Christians are called to be instruments of peace. Jesus said ‘blessed those who work for peace.’
The Pope also asks that “the Holy Spirit not only to sustain the faith of those who suffer and to strengthen their hope, but also that he not allow us to fall into indifference, and to make us builders of unity.
Faith amidst the rubble
This month’s prayer intention focuses on one of the most unstable areas in the world from a political, economic, and safety perspective. According to the Religious freedom report 2025, the number of conflicts in the Middle East and the socio-economic conditions there expose religious minorities, and Christians in particular, to a condition of extreme vulnerability. After two years of war, the population in Palestine is beyond exhaustion; homeless families have taken refuge in many churches. The severe economic crisis in Lebanon has driven thousands of people to emigrate, emptying parishes and schools. In Syria and Iraq, reconstruction struggles to make progress due to political instability, insecurity, and the lack of prospects for the young. Yet, in the midst of these difficulties, many small communities continue to safeguard their faith, serve the poor, and build bridges of co-existence with their neighbors who practice other religions.
The images that accompany the prayer read by the Pope show examples of an unshakable faith even in the midst of the rubble. We see celebrations in Iraqi villages after the war, the extraordinary strength of the parish community of Gaza even as they are being bombed, the indispensable work of Caritas in Lebanon among the poor and refugees in neighboring countries, the spiritual oasis offered by Syrian monks. All of these are signs of the presence of that Holy Spirit who, as the prayer read the Pope says, is “the source of hope in the darkest times.”
From Francis to Leo
Father Cristóbal Fones SJ, the International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, shares his thoughts on the intention “Pope Francis continually prayed for Christians suffering in areas of conflict. For example, he asked for prayers for persecuted Christians (March 2017), for dialogue and reconciliation in the Middle East (November 2019), religious discrimination and persecution (January 2022), for the martyrs of our day, witnesses to Christ (March 2024).”
Fr. Fones continues, “Pope Leo XIV continues in Pope Francis’ footsteps as he makes his first apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon. His invitation to prayer inspires hope. He speaks to Christians of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and many other countries. He reminds them that they are not forgotten, that the universal Church walks with them. We must remember that faith grows even in the midst of trial, and that from wounded communities seeds of reconciliation and peace can be born. We join the Holy Father in asking that the Holy Spirit sustain these brothers and sisters, and to strengthen all of us in hope and solidarity.”
The Pope Video is especially relevant in this Holy Year 2025, according to Fr Fones, as it reveals to us the intentions Pope Leo holds in his heart. To receive the graces of the Jubilee indulgence, it is necessary to pray for the Pope’s intentions.
